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PCB to hire consulting firm to oversee media rights broadcasting deal

KARACHI: In a bid to ensure the media broadcasting rights for the next four-year cycle are sold for a maximum amount, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to hire a consulting company to oversee the process.

PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani had recently cautioned that the Board might face difficulties in getting desired bid amounts for the sale of media broadcasting rights for its international matches at home from 2020 to 2023.

The Board has advertised the hiring and according to reports, the company which wins the bid is likely to be paid in excess of USD 50,000 for its services.The last date to submit the tender is May 14.

Mani noted that Sri Lankan and South African Boards are also facing problems in getting good bids because of the prevailing economic meltdown, caused by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown of businesses.

In its previous deal with Ten sports and PTV sports, the PCB had a USD 149,000 million contract for four years but this included two home series against India.

Since the series with India were not held, an amount of USD 90,000 dollars was deducted from the total contract amount.

The Board has floated the bid documents and has also included a “wagering deal support” clause in it.

The inclusion of the clause apparently has come as a result of the ruckus created during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) when it was revealed that the company which had international live streaming rights of the matches had entered into a deal with a UK-based betting company which live streamed matches on its website and took bets on them from countries where betting is legal.

It caused embarrassment to the Board since betting or gambling of any sort is illegal in Pakistan.